Elizabeth Mostofsky, lead study author at Harvard University, said: “As part of a healthy diet, moderate intake of chocolate is a healthy snack choice.”
The researchers believe that eating cocoa and cocoa-containing foods may help heart health because they have a high volume of flavanols.
These compounds are thought to have anti-inflammatory, blood vessel-relaxing and anti-oxidant properties.
Previous studies have found that eating chocolate - particularly dark chocolate - is associated with better heart health.
In the new study, the researchers looked at 55,502 people in Denmark - there were 3,346 cases of atrial fibrillation over an average of 13.5 years.
The men and women were between 50 and 64 years old when the research began.
At the start, those who ate one serving 28.35 grams of chocolate per week were 17 percent less likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation by the end of the study than people who reported eating chocolate less than once a month.
Mostofsky told Reuters Health: “I think our message here is that moderate chocolate intake as part of a healthy diet is an option.
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